Air curtains are aerodynamically designed generating a laminar stream of air with sufficient quantity & speeds to offer the desired environment protection through open doorways or service hatches.
Air curtain acts as an invisible barrier isolating adjoining areas. Airflow may be horizontally across or vertically downwards. Air curtains help
- To prevent cold air from pushing its way in,
- To prevent warm air from disappearing out the door,
- Keep fresh air by preventing pollution, dust, insects
- Reduce the heating energy loss,
- Cold draughts elimination.
The Air Curtain creates a uniform invisible barrier of high velocity air to divide different environments or clean, cool and/or dry various components or pieces. By utilizing the Coanda effect (wall attachment of high velocity fluid), air motion is created in its surroundings and ambient air is drawn in to produce a high velocity, high flow curtain of air for blowoff. This invisible “air-wall” is created that could also serve just as easily as a barrier preventing heated or conditioned air from leaving an area.
Air curtains consist of a fan and nozzle system which creates a jet of high-velocity air directed across a door opening, providing a protective air shield. The air shield minimizes the transfer of heat, moisture, dust, fumes and insects through the doorway. The Air Curtain fan adds kinetic energy to the air, providing resistance to the penetration of unwanted air or particles.
This added kinetic energy in the discharge air also resists the penetration of outside air due to wind, as well as the invasion of insects. The air is provided at a critical velocity and volume flow as well as a discharge angle selected for its particular application. The Air Curtain enables traffic to flow unobstructed through door openings while maintaining distinct environments, thus resulting in energy savings.
Advantages of Air Curtains
- Environmental separation for open doorways without the drawbacks of visibility-limiting solid barriers such as strip and impact doors;
- Reduced risk of accidents as vehicles and people are able to move through doorways without obstructions to visibility or movement;
- Provide excellent resistance to the penetration of outside winds;
- Prevent the intrusion of insects, fumes and dust;
- Reduce mechanical door maintenance costs;
- More aesthetically appealing than plastic strip doors or high-speed doors.
Applications
- Industrial climate control
- Industrial oven openings
- Dust and Humidity Control
- Hard rock mines
- At commercial entrances
- Pest Control
- Cold storage
- Food product drying
- Can and Wine bottle drying
- Web cleaning and drying
- Environment separation
Pest/insects Control Air Curtains
Air curtain is a device that is used for cooling, drying and cleaning within various manufacturing lines and other processes. By using compressed air as their power source, a balanced sheet of airflow stretches across the full
length of the Air Curtain. The Air Curtain is used extensively in many industrial as well as commercial application areas to keep dust, contaminations or even flying insects/pests out by creating forceful turbulence.
Pest/insect control Air Curtains, sometimes called “Fly Fans” are used in
- Food processing plants
- Dairies and bakeries
- Bottling plants
- Restaurants and school cafeterias
- Supermarkets
- Hospitals and Pharma industries
And other areas where the control of flying insects is required. The powerful stream of air that is produced by Air Curtain/Fly Fan is an excellent deterrent to insects. Sanitation maintenance applications require these Air curtains/Fly fans that prevent airborne insects from entering. For fly and insect control, the Air curtain projects the high velocity air jets across the opening, deflecting and prohibiting the entrance on unsanitary insects, thereby maintaining sanitary conditions. The Air Curtain is equally effective either mounted horizontally or vertically.
For the pest/insect control the Air Curtains can be mounted on either inside or outside of the doorways. It is very important that the entire doorway be covered so that there are no gaps for the insects/pests to enter.
- Inside of the doorway; inside mounted unit helps to control the building’s climate in the winter by stopping the influx of cold outside air and preventing airborne insects.
- Outside of the doorway; when the building contains odors which are attractive to flying insects it is recommended that the Air curtain be mounted on the outside.
The most effective Air Curtain design for insect control has a nozzle that can angle the air stream away from the area to be protected. An angle of about 20 degree from the vertical is usually optimal.
For this application i.e. Pest/insect control which requires maximum protection, it is common and widely accepted to use a more powerful Air curtain in order to achieve the necessary level of protection.
Commercial Entrances; Air Curtains
Air Curtains; create an “invisible door” using laminar air flow, which effectively separates the outdoor and indoor air temperatures when the physical door is open.
Air Curtains are aerodynamically designed air blowers generating a laminar stream of air. These Air Curtains create an uniform invisible barrier of high velocity air to divide different environments. The Air Curtain is used extensively in many industrial as well as commercial application areas to keep dust, contaminations or even flying insects out by creating forceful turbulence. Some uses for Air Curtains are on customer entrances to keep the conditioned air inside the building from escaping. This will increase customer comfort as well as energy savings. In industrial settings, Air Curtains are often used over dock doors. This helps reduce heating costs and increases employee comfort which in turn boosts productivity.
These Air Curtains are widely used for the entrances in commercial establishments such as stores, restaurants and banks and also ideal for public building entrances such as hospitals, terminals and school to reduce energy consumption and provide comfort. The working principle of commercial entrance Air Curtains is to provide the most effective air screen possible without blowing so hard that it is objectionable to people passing through.
In winter Air Curtain retains warm air inside and prevents the influx of cold air. They can also supply additional heat in the door area using optimal electrical, steam or hot water heaters. In the summer Air Curtains keep hot humid air out and prevent the escape or air conditioning.
Benefits while using air curtains at entrances
- Doors can remain open; air curtain creates an invisible door.
- Prevents heated or cooled air from escaping; Air Curtain separates two zones allowing different temperatures to be maintained.
- Reduces draughts and discomfort; increase comfort levels for staff, customers and visitors close to the doorways by reducing draughts.
- Energy saving; cost of running heating and air conditioned system can be reduced with Air Curtains as they help to seal the building from outside environment, making the building more energy efficient.
- Reduce ingress of insects and pollutants; insects, pollen and other air borne pollutants can be minimized by the Air Curtain.
Commercial entrance Air Curtains are normally mounted horizontally instead of vertically above the door that keeps the unit out of the way and practically eliminates any chance of damage/accidents. During the heating season, the air stream should be directed slightly toward the outside and should never be obstructed by door operators or the door header. It is recommended that the Air Curtain fan motor be run continuously, since the poser needed to operate it, is minimal.
Antique Furniture Protection; Air Curtain and Dehumidifiers
It is important to cure and reserve our antique properties or furniture’s, it should be considered that antique furniture should not be cared or repaired in the same manner as modern home furnishing. There are many factors such as UV light, sunlight, hot air, relative humidity, moisture and insects/pests that affect the Antique Furniture.
Factors affecting the antique furniture/material
- Ultraviolet light; causes damages to antiques.
- Sun light; can degrade early finishes, wood and fabrics for antique furniture.
- Relative Humidity; changes in the relative humidity can cause wood to expand and contract, it can cause glue joints to loosen, drawers and doors to drag or become stuck in their opening. And this extended period of high humidity can lead to mold growth, rot and insect infestation.
- Hot Air; heat can cause shrinking that can loosen glue joints, veneers, inlays and marquetry.
- Insects and Pests; wood, leather, fabrics and upholstery materials such as horsehair can be inviting to insects to insects and other small pests.
Air Curtains are aerodynamically designed air blowers generating a laminar stream of air. Air Curtain creates an uniform invisible barrier of high velocity air to divide different environments or clean, cool or dry various components.
The powerful stream of air that is produced by Air Curtain/Fly Fan is an excellent deterrent to insects. Sanitation maintenance applications require these Air curtains/Fly fans that prevent airborne insects from entering. For fly and insect control, the Air curtain projects the high velocity air jets across the opening, deflecting and prohibiting the entrance on unsanitary insects, thereby maintaining sanitary conditions.
Air curtains are the best device to control the indoor climate in all the places .These are used not only to prevent cold air from pushing its way in, but also prevent warm air from going outside the door.
Dehumidifiers are used to control the level of humidity in the antique furniture environment which is used for the storage and to prevent the growth of mold and fungus on the Antique furniture. Mold only requires a bit of moisture to grow, and it can set up shop at a place as soon as one of its airborne spores finds a hospitably damp surface. Dehumidifier also eliminates condensation and subsequent corrosion.
- Some other methods which are used for Antique Furniture care
- Avoid placing Antique Furniture in front of a window or direct sunlight.
- Avoid placing Antiques near air conditioning and heating vents.
- Do not place Antique Furniture near fireplaces and stoves.
- Blot up spills immediately.
- Dust regularly using a lint free cloth.
Air Curtain; Industrial Oven Opening
An Air Curtain is a continuous broad stream of air circulated across a doorway serving a conditioned space. Air curtains are normally mounted horizontally over the doorway. They can also be mounted vertically at the side of the door or under the floor directed upwards.
One of the most important benefits of Air Curtain is Energy saving
- Limits energy loss from conditioned space thereby reducing central plant capacity.
- Increases efficiency of cooling plant.
- Reduced carbon emissions.
- Reduces the running cost of a building.
- Recovers stratified air from high level.
Some of the major Applications of Air Curtain
Air conditioned areas; typical locations are at the entrances to retail stores to condition the ingress of outdoor air into the conditioned space.
Industrial climate control; Normal locations for Air Curtains are exterior doors to factories and warehouses as well as interior doors between factory areas of different temperatures.
Cold stores; used to reduce the loss of refrigerated air, minimize temperature variations and misting of a cold store each time the entrance is opened.
Clean rooms; Air curtains can be installed on the ‘clean’ side of a space to control the transfer of dust and humidity through the doorway.
Other uses; Air curtains are also used for diverse applications such as in the mining industry, insect control in food processing plants, dairies, restaurants, supermarkets and across the openings of industrial ovens and refrigerated display cabinets. They may also be used to separate smoking from non-smoking areas, helping to maintain an agreeable internal environment.
Industrial Oven Opening
It is very important to save energy and fuel during the performance of an Oven. Using Air Curtains on opening to ovens has resulted in fuel savings of up to 40% of the total oven fuel consumption.
These Air Curtains are normally installed horizontally over the oven opening and angled slightly inward toward the oven to contain the hot air that is trying to come out at the top.
Many Air Curtains are successfully operating on ovens with temperatures up to 475° F. The Air Curtain drive motor should be located to the side of the oven opening to protect them from damage from hot air that would escape in the shutdown of the Air Curtain. Oven applications should be designed case by case to meet each set of unique condition.